Immersion

Way of the Circle in New Hampshire

May 17, 2019
to
May 21, 2019

Enrollment Open

17-21 May 2019
Explore the ways in which we can listen deeply to ourselves, our human companions, the more than human world, and the voices of the past, present, and unseen future.
Who the Way of the Circle is for: You are interested in ecotherapy, forest therapy and/or circle facilitation, either professionally or in your personal life. You are a certified forest therapy guide and want to continue your training in circle leadership in order to become a masterful guide. You are a healing professional and want to infuse new energy into your work. You work in the fields of education, social change, liberation studies or community development and want to gain new skills in circle work. You are looking to cultivate deeper intimacy with yourself and all your relationships. You want to develop your capacity for embodied listening, personal authenticity and compassion. You are new to Forest Therapy and curious to experience its’ benefits in a safe, supportive environment.

Who should attend

The Way Of The Circle

In this 4 day immersion, participants will experience the potency of circle practice and the essential elements of a circle. This course aims to develop participants’ capacity to lead a circle or council, both within and beyond the context of forest therapy, and to cultivate an awareness of how our shared stories illuminate our interconnectedness.

Combining forest therapy and the practice of circle, we will explore ways of listening deeply to ourselves, our human companions and the more than human world. We will ask powerful questions, deepen our perception and practice how to build authentic community.


When we sit in a circle with the intention to show up with our whole selves, we may experience the ways in which our stories weave us into community. Alone, we can only see the world through the lens of our own experience, but together, we can witness reality from all angles. Each of our stories are like ingredients in a great soup that sits at the center of every circle. What we each bring forth from within our hearts blends with all that is offered and in turn nourishes us all. In the center of every circle we find the common themes of our existence, illuminating our shared experience of this world and eliminating personal and cultural isolation.

But showing up with authenticity does not only apply to our relationships with each other; it is also critical in how we relate with the more-than-human world. How do we listen to the sky and the animals, the stones and the rivers? How do we give expression to what we perceive?

In the circle, we learn to bear witness to what is real and to harvest the wisdom generated by authentic community. In this way, we may more fully experience our connectedness with the world around us. When we are open to listening, we find the medicine we are carrying within us and in our community.

We will experience forest therapy walks, circle and triad practice and a presentation by Ben ‘Crow’ Page on the ways in which consciousness can incorporate increasingly complex levels of perception through the practice of deep listening, from his master’s thesis work ‘An Exploration in Living Council.’

What you can anticipate in this course:

Skills and Learning

  • Essential elements of circle practice
  • Circle facilitation skills
  • Circle leadership skills: how to be a leader without leading
  • Developing awareness of group energy
  • Circle practice with the more-than-human-world

Personal Development

  • Experience circle as a pathway towards community and relationship
  • Experience circle as a pathway towards finding ourselves and our medicine
  • Develop embodied listening
  • Cultivate nature connection

Experience

  • Guided Forest Therapy walks
  • Community building practices
  • Planting ceremony in community

Bethel Farm is set on 50 acres of private, quiet land and is surrounded by several hundred acres more of forest and meadows. At its core, it is an organic farm, but has become a place for people to meditate, practice yoga, find peace, and reconnect to the land.

The farm has winding trails throughout the surrounding forests and gardens. There are small nooks to be explored -- some with ponds and waterfalls, as well as trails that can be explored while barefoot. The rooms are minimalist and humble, but offer purity in simplicity and comfort.

VENUE
Bethel Farm
34 Bethel Road, Hillsborough, NH 03244
Hillsborough, NH 03244
USA
http://bethelfarm.org/
LODGING

Contact Stephen at Bethel Farm to arrange lodging. Phone: 603-464-5985; email: bethelfarmyoga@gmail.com

There are 3 double rooms, a 5 person dorm, a 10 person dorm, and 7 tent platforms that can fit 11people, (there are no single rooms). There are both indoor and outdoor bathroom facilities forpeople staying both inside and outside. There is also a cabin with two floors, which is up a short hillfrom the rest of the farm. One mattress is on the ground floor and the other is in the loft.Rooms cost $100/night per person, which includes the price of food, linens, pillows, and towels.Camping is available for $85/night per person and will also include the price of food. It’s possible thatnights can be cold, so campers should be well equipped. The venue does not supply sleeping pads,bedding or towels to campers.There are three 8’ x 8’ platforms appropriate for 2 person tents, and four 8’ x 10’ platforms appropriatefor 4 person tents.There are tents available for rent: $5/night for a two-person tent (which will actually fit one person), and$10/night for a four-person tent (which will actually fit two people).People can also bring their own equipment.For people who aren't staying on site, there is a day use fee of $35 per person per day.Rooms and tent platforms will be assigned in the order in which requests are received by the venue.Requests by participants should be emailed directly to bethelfarmyoga@gmail, not as part of athread.

MEALS

Meal prices are built into the price of accommodations, which includes camping as well. This is a vegetarian venue, and no meat or fish is allowed on the premises. If you have other dietary restrictions, you should notify Bethel Farm as soon as possible so that they have adequate notice to accommodate them.

TRANSPORTATION

Bethel Farm is a 50 minute drive from Manchester, NH and an hour and 45 minute drive from Boston, MA.

GENERAL NOTES

Fitness Requirements: Medium level of fitness. There are some trails that have elevation changes to them, as well as a waterfall around a 30-minute walk away.

Schedule for Live Events

Tuition

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Who should attend

Trainers

Entrenadores

Pamela is the creator of the Forest Bathing Podcast (coming in April 2020) and director of the 2019 Forest Bathing International Conference. She has been involved as an advisor with ANFT since its conception in 2011 and is a certified guide, practicum mentor and immersions facilitator.

Pamela has a background as a professional life coach and rite of passage mentor and has studied and worked for several decades in the field of human development. The journey of motherhood awakened in Pamela a passionate sense of caring for the thriving of life and with forest therapy she has found a practice which allows her to share this passion and to experience states of awe, wonder and love of life everywhere.


Ben ‘Crow’ Page is the Director of Training for the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy as well as a trainer of guides. He is the founder of Shinrin Yoku LA and has been guiding Forest Therapy walks since 2016. Since his practice began, Ben has been featured in such publications as Women’s Health, USA TODAY, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, and WebMD. Ben is also a co-founder of The Open School, Southern California’s only free democratic school. He holds a B.A. in religious studies from Carleton College and an M.A. in human development and social change from Pacific Oaks College. Ben’s primary interest is to live the question of what it feels like to be alive.